Collab: From the Classroom to the Client
Written by Willow Hayward AMT 25′
Each year, students in the AMT program at Parsons Paris get the opportunity to take Collab: Mediating Art & Cultural Heritage—a hands-on class that dives into how museums and cultural institutions use both analog and digital strategies to make art more accessible. Instead of just studying these concepts in theory, we actually get to work with a real-world client, applying our design skills in a professional setting.
Last year, our class collaborated with L’AiR Arts Association located at Atelier 11 Cité Falguière – a unique space that serves as both a historical heritage site and a contemporary artist residency. This site, once home to legendary artists like Gauguin, Modigliani, and Soutine, is now an International Arts Research Residency that brings together creatives from all over the world. In coordination with the Cité Falguière Association, our challenge was to design new mediation tools that would help visitors connect with the rich history and ongoing artistic community of Atelier 11, the last remaining studio in the historic Cité Falguière.
Guided by Art Historian and AMT Director Stephanie Nadalo with the help of Parsons Paris Professor Carlos Franklin Sanabria, we explored how museums and heritage sites adapt their storytelling techniques to stay relevant and inclusive in today’s world. Through field research, academic discussions, and hands-on prototyping, we developed creative solutions that would help L’AiR Arts engage its visitors in new and meaningful ways.
At the end of the semester, we presented our final projects at the L’AiR Arts site, sharing our work directly with the team. Each group focused on a different mediation tool, including:
- A fresh new typeface and logo for the Atelier ‘Soutine 11‘
- A redesigned visitor brochure
- A video celebrating the Atelier’s 150-year anniversary
- A box of interactive games and activities for school groups ‘L’AiR Arts Kids‘
- An immersive dining experience inspired by the Atelier’s history ‘Salon 11‘
After months of research, design, and iteration, seeing our projects come to life in the space was incredibly rewarding. Standing in the atelier where so many artists before us had worked, we could truly imagine how our designs might shape the visitor experience in the future. Many of the projects were influenced by physical and historical elements within the space and have even been given a new life in the atelier. The font design, named ‘Soutine 11’ (inspired by a historical artist’s graffiti on the facade of the building) is now featured in the L’AiR Arts communication materials, and elements from other projects are being implemented throughout the visitor experience at L’AiR Arts.
A huge congratulations to the entire Collab class for all the creativity and dedication. Looking forward to what this year will bring for the next Collab class!
